Olympiacos edge Vouliagmeni to reach Euro League final
LEN EURO LEAGUE - SEMIFINALS
| Vouliagmeni W | 7 - 8 | Olympiacos W |
|---|---|---|
| (2 - 5) (4 - 4) (6 - 7) (7 - 8) |
In an all-Greek semifinal, Olympiacos defeated Vouliagmeni 8-7 to reach the final of the LEN Euro League Women Final Four.
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It was the first time in nine years that two Greek teams were in the Final Four of Europe’s premier competition for women’s club water polo. Vouliagmeni came into it looking for their third title, while Olympiacos are looking for their second.
The semifinal was even from the get-go, as the score was 2-2 after the first period and 4-4 at halftime. Vouliagmeni went up 5-4 early in the third period, before Olympiacos’ Alkisti Avramidou scored three goals within two minutes to put the Erythrolefkes up 7-5. After the third period, Olympiacos held a narrow 7-6 lead.
Avramidou added another goal early in the fourth period to give Olympiacos an 8-6 lead, and a late goal from Vouliagmeni’s Eleni Xenaki made the final score 8-7 in favor of Olympiacos. Avramidou was the top scorer for Olympiacos with four goals, while Ioanna Chydirioti was Vouliagmeni’s top scorer with three goals on the day.
Avramidou, the hero for Olympiacos, talked about how badly her and her teammates wanted this win. “The truth is that Vouliagmeni came out stronger in the game. Both teams wanted it very much and there was passion. We worked how we had been working in practice for a long time. It occurred for me to be the one who took the shots. Our entire team worked for me to score and every girl was was in their appropriate place,” said Avramidou.
Olympiacos will now face hosts and four-time champions Sabadell of Spain in Saturday’s final. Sabadell beat Italy’s Padova 8-5 in their semifinal encounter. When Olympiacos won their only previous title back in 2015, they had actually defeated Sabadell in the final, so the Spaniards will be looking for revenge.
